Thursday, 24 February 2011

Question Time

This weeks question time comes from don't where and will feature we don't know who. But probably a Tory, a Labour, a Liberal, a journalist and a left or right wing weirdo.{They leave it so late on QT website.}

YOU choose what you think the panel may be asked by the audience.YOU put those guess questions into the comments... points are awarded for accuracy, style, exclusivity, humour and sometimes just randomly. New entrants welcome and judged favourably.

Winner gets to pick whether to pick up UK nationals from the next foreign country to go tits up.

31 comments:

(last week Dimbleby did say something like 'I have to move on we've spent 25% of our time on one question' I infer from that slightly odd comment that the QT powers-that-be are aware of and have discussed the slow question rate… so five questions tonight, And a bonus for any self-consciously phrased time worries?)

Anyway..

- is it really up to the tax-payer to rescue british citizens foolish enough to remain in places like libya, especially given the cuts.

- isnt it time we finally put in a proper cap on out-of-control levels of immigration, especially in this time of cuts

- should the NHS charge obese people for treatment, especially given the need to make cuts

- what is David Cameron DOING swanning around the Middle East selling arms - especially with all the cuts back home

- Have any of the panel been invited to the Royal Wedding (and won't it make a nice diversion from the cuts)

Libya and the farce of a 'rescue operation' for our nationals. Was it really wise to scrap our aircraft carriers? Mr Piss-up, please meet Mr Brewery.

Mr Gaddaffi (for it is he) has promised to 'die on Libyan soil' when he gets it all a bit wrong. Could our politicians do likewise? please?

Fuel price interest rate rise and inflation. What chance a revolution here? who'd lead it and in what fuel-miser of a vehicle?

And the obligatory royal wedding question - who would you invite and why? They'll be one like this each week until either the wedding, revolution or death (which, given the inevitable saturation coverage, will look increasingly inviting). Personally, I'd invite Gaddaffi - he's not ruled as long as the queen dontchaknoe and there's no revolution here. Must be the flouride in the water....

- Libya and can Gaddafi hang on?- Who cares about the shadow MPC. Rate rise issue leaves opinion divided. Mervyn says none are coming, everyone else says they are.-Should teachers be poisoned in school?-Was Cameron wrong to continue his long planned tour of the Middle East?- Foreign aid should only be used for earthquakes and rescuing British citizens.

1. Cant we stop Mad Dog Gaddafi - shurely we should be intervening2. Arent we awful for intervening in M.E. affairs in the past.3. Cameron is a lickspittle to our evil arms dealing industries.4. The coming inflation/recession shouldn't we raise interest rates now tomake sure that saver get an extra few pence while destrying the fragile (real) economy.5. Somnethin about AV

* Libya. should Britain get involved?* If the PM and Foreign Sec are away and Clegg is on 1/2 term, who's in charge? Is it Simon Hughes?* Fuel prices and inflation.* NHS jobs to go? Where is the ring fence?

Middle East, Libya, and Cameron's entrepreneurial skills. Fraser Nelson to mention Labour's ethical foreign policy. Will Hague be one of the 400 people to lose their job at the FCO? Though I suppose the big question is really about whether any UK nationals twisted an ankle or anything...

Brent crude prices and inflation. Did someone say stagflation..?

There must be a question about the Welsh Referendum. Sadly, I know nothing about it, so that's as specific as I can get. Shirley Willaims, bless her, to get confused and talk about AV instead.

If there were more women in the boardroom, would there have been a financial bubble / crash?

Are we foolish to have embraced Col Gaddafi?In Mandy's memoirs he says Blair jumped at the chance to hug the Colonel. Mainly to show that Iraq had been a success. "Look everyone. They're reforming!"Hain and Shirl stick up for Tony.TBF its a tough call. Tony had tried hard with Jordon, Syria{that badly backfired} and Saudi. Not much applause though.Much more for OIL is the deal from Elyfn.Wanders into Megrahi territory, but Hain seems in total denial about Labour's part in the release. He should have let it go. Now he's messing with a pot that he doesn't want stirred.

Q2. Cameron and the arms dealers.{PR cock-up even if it was planned. Who's in charge? Who's his Sue Nye/Sally Morgan?}Hain thinks its bad timing, implying its bad, but tacitly admitting Labour would have done the same. Makes a tit of himself by saying if its wrong we wouldn't do it again!UK doesn't supply arms to Libya. That would have been a far better response.Lots of hand wringing. But as Sir Humphrey said "Either you're in the arms business or you're not."

Q3. Knew it! A Welsher only question. Really a Big Sock question. Isn't it time we reviewed exactly what 'poverty' is. 90,000 children out of a population of Wales = 3 million sounds about right for those at the bottom of the heap. Its 3% of total pop. Maybe 10% of children pop. JSP had a good line about chief execs. Hain talks populist crap about deficit but gets the claps. Someone even manages to blame Thatcher for continuing unemployment.In the three months to July 2010, the employment rate for working-age adults in Wales was 67 per cent, compared to 70.7 per cent across the UK as a whole.She's really sick of politicos.Shirley sits on the fence again. 3 out of 3 for her.Audience is split between banker haters and Labour state intervention.

Q4. Welsh referendum . Is it an important issue . Not!Move on. Closing the passport office was on Labour's agenda BTW Hain. Tory-led coalition just took the proposals and ran with them. CG is slightly booed by saying she doesn't live in Wales. Quite. The environment minister doesn't have to live in the New Forest. The culture minister needn't take a home in the national gallery.JSP has a good line about the extra spread of pointless overpaid bureaucracy.

No smoking zone came up! Kerchiingh!

Q5. Cameron is cutting 50,000 jobs. {False Economy website started that crap. Figures are way, way out. I think Fraser Nelson has exposed them already.}That other report JSP is talking about is the possible closure of old peoples homes over a long year period if blah-blah-blah happens and blah blah blah doesn't}2/3 cuts to nurses pension. - Not sure its that? Isn't it pay in a larger amount to a pension or receive less? Sure those figs are maximum headline figs.Nelson does well at the end.

Christ that was painful watching. No one in the QT audience ever has a clue about monye and the world, its really depressing. Not to cuts, boo to bankers, no to debt reality, holidays for all and prizes for the poor kids!

CU/DP - It was the worst yet. The Welsh ones always are. Even the audience couldn't be bothered to clap. The Scots ones are far better. Usually some of the very best. Are the Scots more worldly in outlook.?

Research Botogol? Aren't we supposed just to thrust our hands into the brantub of our political minds and pull out what they OUGHT to be talking about? I'm going to have to change my attitude now there are league tables and prizes.